The reason for the disappearance of more than 1,500 people off the state house waiting list is a mystery. One thing's for sure the Government hasn't found them a home, National Housing spokesperson David Carter said today.

"This creative accounting is Mr Gosche's most original way of dealing with out of control waiting lists so far.

"Housing waiting lists dropped from 11,493 in January to 9,058 in February accounting for a 2,435 decrease. However, of that 2,435 only 873 people have actually been housed by Housing New Zealand.

"This means there are 1,598 people who have not been housed but who are no longer on the waiting lists. They have effectively disappeared.

"The 'disappearing' people may no longer require housing, no longer meet the criteria for a state house or could not be contacted by Housing New Zealand but we'll never know as the Housing Minister was unable to justify why 1,598 people were removed from the list," David Carter said.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>